I had heard good things about The Republic of Tea, so when I saw their new chai blend for sale at Chapters, I decided to give the brand a try.
This definitely is a different sort of chai. The bags have a strong and unique aroma – the spices really come through. They come through in the brewed tea as well, resulting in a ‘peppery’ taste – the result of the ginger in particular. In comparison, the rest of the tea isn’t very strong at all. It’s not as is the other flavours are completely dwarfed by the ginger, they simply aren’t there. The first sign was the almost total lack of colour (in a BLACK TEA). Even after several minutes of steeping (the tin does say ‘Traditionally steeped strong’), there’s only a weak indication of what could have been a good chai hiding somewhere underneath.
The flavour of the tea is there if you look for it, but it seems to be cowering behind the mild bite of the spices.
I will have to try something different from The Republic of Tea next time, because this cup didn’t strike my fancy.
I’ve had decent stuff from them, though they’re not amazing. My favorite Chai right now is Saigon Chai from Davids.
I still have to try David’s. I keep hearing really good things about them, and they seem to have a lot of unique blends.
When are you off next? Maybe we can plan a trip there together? I love them.
I work Monday-Friday, with weekends off. I’m also off at 4.30 each day.
I’m going in tomorrow to cover for Beryl since she is sick and I need to make up time, but I may only do the 4 hours I need to catch up on. I am off Monday and Tuesday, so I might be able to do something after you get off work. Text me? FB message works too.